Tsa'helu
by Methinks
Summary: Na'vi are more than just individuals. It is to be part of Eywa, to live as One with every living thing around you. It is also a lesson each Na'vi must learn for himself, and sometimes one finds the lesson is taught in surprising ways. Discontinued.
1. Prologue

**Tsa'helu**

Prologue

By Methinks

--

_"...That is Tsa'helu, the bond. Feel her. Feel her heartbeat, her breath. Feel her strong legs..." _

_--_

Note: The names, terms, and phrases herein come either from the cast list, directly from Na'vi language's creator, Dr. Paul Frommer, from the book "The Art of Avatar", or my own heavy-handed attempts at transcribing from the movie itself. As soon as I get my hands on more official sources, I will be back to correct any mistakes and/or misuses.

--

I'm not going to lie, I hated Jake Sully. Hated him more than I thought possible.

It just wasn't fair. From the moment I flicked on the holovid as a five year old and saw the reports hailing the discovery of Pandora and the Na'vi, I knew what I wanted to do. Knew it with all the conviction only a naive child can muster. I was going to grow up to be a Na'vi.

My parents soon cured me of that illusion but they couldn't destroy my dream of going to Pandora. Nothing could. Instead, they pointed me in the right direction. A perfect record all through school. Grades, attendance, behavior. Not once, all the way through high school, did I fail a test or miss a day of class.

And then, the summer before I entered the Lunar Institute of Science and Technology, the AVTR program was announced and my dream of becoming a Na'vi returned with a vengeance. I became a fanatic, obsessed. I studied every waking hour of every day. And when I wasn't studying, I was concentrating on my health. A strict regimen of exercise combined with an even stricter diet supplemented by a scientifically researched combination of vitamins and minerals ensured I was in perfect physical condition for the AVTR program.

I graduated valedictorian of my class of 5,743 students at humanity's premiere scientific university, with dual Bachelors in Anthropology and Biology in only three years. My Masters degrees followed, one in Linguistic Studies with a focus on Na'vi and one in Xenobiology. I finished my education off with a two hundred page thesis on Pandoran Ecology as part of my Ph.D in Pandoran Xenobiology.

Of course, all the while I was making connections with anyone even remotely related with RDA and particularly with the AVTR program. I submitted textbook thick applications complete with my very impressive resume to no less than seven RDA employees who I knew could get it on the Director's desk. And that was in addition to the official application I submitted, in person, to the AVTR Office at RDA corporate headquarters.

And despite all that, the day I received notification that I had been accepted into the AVTR program I nearly passed out from the shock.

Of course, it didn't end there. I soon found out I was only accepted as a potential candidate. Despite my perfect record, my perfect physical condition, I still had to go through a nerve wracking fifteen months while they ran me through a whole battery of painful tests to determine if I was even viable as a 'driver'. Every needle-prick was more than worth it.

When they told me I would have my own Avatar I did pass out from the shock. I still count it as the happiest memory of my life.

And then the training started. My Ph.D wasn't enough. I had to go through a whole new series of classes, making sure I knew everything there was to know about every identified element of Pandoran wildlife, plant and animal. The slightest mistake on a test, for any of my class of five, and the lesson began all over again for each of us.

The lessons didn't stop there. After they had finally deemed us competent, they began the Na'vi training. Language, culture, customs and traditions, even how to cook a traditional Na'vi meal, something I have zero talent for. To this day, I believe they passed me only so I'd stop burning the expensive Pandoran exports they were bringing in.

It was hell. I lived, ate, and slept Pandora for three full years. There were no days off, no free time. The only time I got to relax was the five hours between the moment my head fell forward onto my notes and when I woke up to start it all anew.

But I didn't mind, I really didn't. Because I knew all of it would find me behind the wheel – so to speak – of one of those beautiful, blue creatures I'd seen on the holovids as a child. And when I graduated from learning from books to running virtual simulations using the same neural link-ups I'd use in reality, any lingering doubts I'd had were swept away. If the _simulation_ was this amazing, god only knows how incredible the real thing would actually be.

And then the day finally came to leave. I had 'graduated' from the program; my personal avatar, my new body, had been born. They wouldn't let me see it before we left, the necessary conditions for its growth too fragile for any outside exposure, so they were keeping it off-limits from everyone but the medical personnel who would be tending to it for the next six years while the rest of the shuttle to Pandora slept in cryo. That didn't bother me in the slightest. I still packed all my most important belongings, gave away the rest, sold the house, and then stepped onto the spacecraft knowing full well I would never see my old friends or family ever again.

And then I learned that Tom Sully had died, the brilliant scientist I had trained with for years gunned down in a common mugging. To this day, I still wonder if the fact that my first thought was whether or not this would postpone the voyage makes me a terrible person. Fact is though, Tom and I weren't all that close. We were connected through the shared trials we had gone through, but for both of us, the AVTR program was our whole life. I respected him for his dedication, his passion, as he had respected me for mine, but that was it.

I didn't actually learn about the twin brother Jake until after I had woken up from cryo. A dime-a-dozen jarhead, a marine – and a _handicapped_ marine, at that – was being streamlined into the program simply because of a freak accident of birth. Oh, I didn't like it even then, but I went along with it. He wouldn't last long. It took Tom and I years of training to prepare for this mission. This Jake would come along, play pretend for a session or two before realizing just how out of his league he really was and dropping out.

But he didn't. Despite his ignorance, despite the obvious disdain of his coworkers – both military and AVTR – Corporal Jake Sully refused to quit. And then this _nobody_ goes out and pisses off a Thanator – which everybody with half a brain cell knows is one of the worst jungle predators on Pandora – nearly killing us and himself in the process.

And then he gets rewarded for it!

And not just any reward. No... the Omaticaya actually invite him into Hometree, accept him as one of their own when every avatar who'd come before him had tried and failed! Him. This worthless accident of fate had just been given the chance I'd dreamed of for as long as I could remember.

How I hated Jake then. Hated him with every part of my being. Looking back on it, I am ashamed to see just how childish I had acted towards him, all the petty insults and snide comments I made. Nothing like the refined scholar I like to think of myself as. But there is not a part of me that would even attempt to change the sentiment I felt. It really just wasn't fair.

But then I watched him begin to fall in love with Pandora the way I had and it became harder to hate him. He worked as hard as I once had, forgoing sleep just to get those few more hours inside the link, studying with Grace or I anytime Neytiri's duties called her away. After a while, seeing the bitter disappointment and regret I felt every time I 'woke up' reflected on his face day after day, and knowing his pain was even greater as each time he lost his legs anew, I eventually came to forgive him. It wasn't his fault I just wasn't what the Na'vi were looking for.

In retrospect, we should have known that from the start. The Na'vi are above all else, a practical people, respecting the strength to survive in the harsh wilds that is their home over anything else. Jake had that strength, the rest of us science geeks did not. It really was as simple as that.

So day by day, Grace and I gathered our samples, studied the jungle, while Jake was allowed to become one of the Omaticaya themselves. I even helped, quizzing him over the language, over the wildlife he'd encountered while the rest of the People slept. I eventually grew to like him in a way I had never liked Tom, or even Grace. I couldn't even bring myself to grow mad at him when he risked everything to mate with Neytiri, with their Chief's daughter.

In fact, if I recall correctly I actually gave him a high-five.

And now, as my avatar awaits me amongst the horse-riding Na'vi of Pandora's plains, preparing to attack my own technologically superior race in a last ditch effort to defend the people I've come to love more than my own, I thank Eywa that Jake is here. I spent months thinking myself better than him for all my education, for all those endless hours of training and simulations, but in the face of this encroaching army I realize just how pointless it all was. Pandora didn't need another scientist. Pandora needed a leader, a warrior, someone who could lead it out of the very darkness my presence had threatened it with.

Pandora needed its Tar'ruk'makto. Which meant Pandora needed Jake.

And because Pandora needed him, I needed him.

This will be my final record. I honestly don't expect to survive the day. Jake's the marine, the hunter, not me. I'm just a nerdy kid with a useless Ph.D. I've never killed, I'm not strong or brave; I barely even know the butt of a gun from its barrel, much less how to ride a horse. Even now, miles away from any danger, I can't stop shivering.

But if that is what it takes, I will gladly give my life for Pandora, for Eywa, for the Na'vi. For Jake. For my Tar'ruk'makto. Because even if Pandora and the Na'vi don't want me, they are still my whole world. I have sacrificed everything – my family, my friends, my entire life back on Terra – for this planet, for these people. If by my death I can do one little thing for them, then I will count mine a life well lived.

And perhaps in the afterlife I will hear the words I have wanted so long to hear: _"__Oel ngati kameie__ tsmúkan."_

"_I see you, brother."_

Norm Spellman signing off. May Eywa be with us all.

--

I've always been jealous of Neytiri. Almost from the very day she left the womb ten seconds before me, I've been jealous of her.

Is it really any surprise? Me, Pey'lal, the daughter of a simple weaver and a hunter who had barely earned his bow. Her, the daughter of Eytukan and Mo'at, a woman who would one day become Tsahik while I sit in the shadows and sew loincloths.

I've tried – Eywa knows I've tried – so hard to prove myself to the People, to prove I'm just as good as her. I've thrown myself completely into every single thing I've done. When Neytiri began her training as a huntress at the age of six, I broke all tradition, disregarding the fact that I was expected to follow in my mother's footsteps, and all but left my family behind to become a daughter of the forest.

That was the first and last day I've thanked the Sky People for landing on our world, the new threat allowing me to muscle my way into the program through sheer stubbornness.

I took to the woods like an eykan takes to air, outstripping the skill of my assigned mentor in a matter of months. While Neytiri and the others were learning to navigate the upper canopy, I was teaching myself to move quicker than the wind and to step more softly than the rain. While their mentors instructed them on how to hold a bow, I was practicing hitting a target at a hundred paces in the dark. While they stalked the whirl lizards for practice, I hunted viper wolves, well aware that one misstep was all it would take to get me killed.

By the time I was nine, the only thing keeping me from being the best hunter among the Omaticaya was my child's body. There wasn't a single warrior who could contest that with age I would become the greatest among them. I could have taken my final test even then, climbed Iknimaya and claimed my eykan, but the Alu'eytan said I was too young and the Tsahik said I was too foolish.

At the time I just thought they were holding me back so Neytiri could pass first.

I was wrong, though I wouldn't realize that until now years later. And I did take my test first after all. Eytukan had little choice but to allow me to when I returned to Hometree at fifteen, dragging the head of a Thanator behind me. The greatest hunter of the jungle and I had single-handedly stalked and killed him. Few Omaticaya have ever done so and none as young as I. I was chastised severely for it, though at the time I knew not why, but it accomplished what I had hoped for - I had my test.

It was about then that the Sky People began falling from the skies in greater and greater numbers. I found their new camp first, a horde of activity clustered around their giant metal birds, deep in the heart of the forest. The Omaticaya would never have received such quick warning if it hadn't been for me. Nobody else had the guts to range so far alone from the safety of our patrols.

But did I receive so much as a thank you? Of course not. No, in the excitement over our new neighbors' arrival I was quickly pushed aside and forgotten. The Tsahik sat around and wove visions of peace and diplomacy while Neytiri and the others listened and nodded like _skxawng_. It was only when they realized they had no idea where to find the Sky People that they remembered me.

I led them there, by eykan since few of our 'ambassadors' could have handled the rigorous path I'd blazed through the forest. And when we arrived there, I just disappeared, slipped back into the shadows of the trees. Nobody ever even noticed I was gone. They'd already made it clear they didn't want a hot-headed huntress there anyways.

And so I watched and I waited. I watched as more Sky People came. I watched as they began to eat into my beloved forest like a cancer, tearing through the mighty trees and unyielding rock with frightening ease. I watched as they fought back against the creatures of the woods, wielding 'guns' and 'machines' more powerful than any weapon I had ever seen.

And I knew then how this would end. The Sky People would either destroy the forest, and then the Na'vi, or we would destroy them first.

But then the dreamwalkers came, Grace with her school and medicine and offers of peace and for a time it seemed like a different ending might be possible. She began offering classes to teach us how to interact and speak with the Sky People. Neytiri took them, as she was expected to as the future Tsahik.

I took them too.

I studied English obsessively, just as I had my hunter training. It only took me three months to learn enough of the language to hold a rudimentary conversation with the Sky People. Three months during which I never once slept outside of Hometree. I haven't spent that much time at 'home' since I began my training as a child.

But I barely got a pat on the back and a good girl before Grace turned back to her prized pupil, Neytiri, the future Tsahik. The two of them were so eager then to play nice and make peace that it disgusted me.

I haven't spoken English since.

And I left Hometree again. I returned to the forest, haunted the edge of the Sky People's camp. I watched their movements and tracked their patrols, eavesdropping whenever I could. I was determined to prove Grace wasn't what she seemed.

I never did catch even the barest of hints of treachery regarding Grace but I learned other things. I was the one who discovered the Sky People had killed one of our missing patrols and I was the one who brought retribution to the five wretched vermin who'd murdered them. The skxawng never even saw it coming, all five of them silenced before they could even send off a distress signal. My only regret is that they deserved a much worse death than they received.

It was I who then brought warning of the Sky People's duplicity to the Omaticaya. I who set our warriors on guard and prevented more of them from falling to the Sky People's treachery. Of course, by this point I didn't even expect anything of it. I just sulked in silence as they took my hard won information and cast me to the side.

And then that _Jakesully_ came and they forgot everything I'd said all over again. Like the lives of our dead brothers meant nothing simply because the Sky People had sent a warrior dreamwalker into our camp. And then the Tsahik felt the need to spit on our warriors' graves, to actually teach this dreamwalker our ways, to accept him as one of our own. I knew then the Omaticaya were doomed.

I was right. Jakesully brought our world down around our ears. I was there when Hometree fell, was there when the ashes of my Peoples' lives fell down upon us like rain. I hadn't even called Hometree 'home' in years, preferring a tree branch and a soft blanket of jungle moss to the rough hammocks of Hometree, and yet I still felt its loss as keely as the newly orphaned children around me. I still felt sorrow for every one of our fallen kin as if they had been my own brother or sister, my son or daughter.

It was only then that I began to understand the lessons the Tsahik had been trying to teach me all this time. The People may be many but we are above all else One. We are the Na'vi, the children of Eywa, and Eywa binds us all together in a great Tsa'helu that transcends even life itself. And because of Tsa'helu, because we are One, one Omaticaya's sorrow is _all_ the Omaticaya's sorrow. One Omaticaya's triumph is _all_ the Omaticaya's triumph.

Neytiri understood this long before I, and it was for this that she was beloved, not because she was born first, or because she was the better huntress or English-speaker or daughter of the Tsahik. All my life I had been fighting a contest that never even existed. Because we are One, my triumphs are the People's triumphs and therefore Neytiri's triumphs as well. Likewise her triumphs are my triumphs; I am Tsahik because she is Tsahik, and she is the best huntress because I am the best huntress.

To learn you have spent your whole life acting the fool is a harsh awakening indeed.

But I thank Eywa for it. Because now I understand. This unity is both our greatest strength, and our greatest weakness. For together the Na'vi need fear nothing. It is only when we are apart, when people like myself act not for the good of the People but instead for their own selfish pride, that we are weak.

And to my own shame, even Jakesully understood this long before I, returning, despite his mate's condemnations, as Tar'ruk'makto to lead the tribes in battle. To unite the Na'vi as one to face the greatest foe to ever threaten us. I watched him fly down, perched triumphantly atop the Tar'ruk and I knew it was as Neytiri said, 'I was afraid for my people. Now I am not.'

Because with him to guide us, we are One.

That is why I am here, before the Tree of Souls - as I heard the Tar'ruk'makto say - 'talking to a tree.' I was a fool, am a fool. More of a skxawng than Jakesully ever was. It is only now, twenty-one sun cycles after my birth, that I am finally ready to be part of the People. I will proudly follow behind Neytiri and the Tar'ruk'makto when the sun rises in five hours and I will gladly give up my life in their service.

And I will do so without regret. Because if I know that if but one of us lives after tomorrow, if the Tree of Souls still stands, then I have won even if I have fallen. For I am my own brother, my own sister. I am my father, my mother.

I am Jakesully. I am Neytiri.

And it doesn't make much sense to be jealous of yourself, does it?

--

_Author's Note:_

_When I first watched Avatar, I knew I wanted to write a story for it. Something made incredibly difficult by the fact that I wouldn't change a single thing about the movie. I was spell-bound from the moment it began. Everything about it, from the breathtakingly beautiful CG to the story itself was perfect (in my vaunted opinion), truly evoking in me that mythical 'suspension of disbelief' story-tellers love to talk about._

_It was when I went to watch it the second time (well-worth it despite the cut-throat movie prices) that this idea struck me. During the scene at the Tree of Voices, where Jake and Neytiri become mates, Neytiri mentions two other women – Ney'nat with the best voice among the Omaticaya, and Pey'lal, one of their better huntresses – as women Jake might take for himself. Those two names sparked the thought processes that eventually led to this._

_I'll be trying to write this story as a parallel of sorts to Cameron's masterpiece. Of the 'tree-hugging traitors' – Jake, Grace, Norm, and Trudy – only Jake and Norm were left and only Norm was single. So why not save Norm's avatar and put him on the same path to self-discovery Jake had undertaken, this time with this Pey'lal as his mentor. Then I could continue my journey through Pandora, write my own Na'vi romance, and at the same time play around with the aftermath of the attack._

_I can only pray I do half as good a job as Cameron did._

_--_

As far as the chapter goes, this will be the only one with a first-person viewpoint. Seeing as how it's just the prologue I felt it justified in twisting it around that way. I'd actually considered posting this up as a one-shot and writing the story separately but eventually decided I needed to keep the two together. While this would work perfectly well as a one-shot, the story would be far weaker without some sort of introduction. So this will serve as a combined recap of the movie and an introduction of sorts to Tsa'helu's two main characters.

Also, I realize there was a good number of Na'vi words in here. Shoving foreign languages in stories where there is no need is one of my pet peeves so I promise to keep it to a minimum, using Na'vi only for names and titles, such as Alu'eytan, meaning 'chief'. This, I feel, adds an extra measure of authenticity to the story, hopefully without making it unbearable or difficult to read. If you have any problems with it, please let me know so I can do what I can to alleviate them.

Thanks. I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

--

_**Update:**_ I've received a whole slew of questions about where I'm going with this fic, mostly regarding potential love interests for one or both characters. This will be a Norm/Pey'lal story. It will also be quite long in the making. I fully intend to turn this into a six-digit word story be prepared for some reading.

--

Published: 12.24.09

Update: 1.02.10


	2. Chapter 1

**Tsa'helu**

Chapter 1

By Methinks

--

Pey'lal snarled as she released the tension on the bowstring, sending another arrow soaring straight through the one of the Sky People's 'scopes' and through the back of the soldier's eye. She immediately spun around. Despite her loathing for the pale vermin, she couldn't deny that they were well-trained. There was only a split second's hesitation as their brother's body collapsed before they tracked her shot and turned their fire in her direction. Even prepared, she almost didn't duck behind the tree in time.

As she braced her back against the tree, she could feel a line of fire scoring her cheek. She hadn't even been able to get away unscathed, though she wasn't sure if it was a bullet graze or just shrapnel from the tree that had hit her. Still, a little scratch was more than worth it to put down her twenty-first skxawng that day. They never should have threatened the Great Mother.

She took a deep breath before sprinting across the massive tree branch and diving into the underbrush below, careful to keep the massive tree trunk between her and the Sky People the whole time. Hit-and-run. It was how she'd managed to kill so many of the Sky People while her kinsfolk rode to their deaths all around her. She could have warned them, told them that their charge was futile. But they were Plainsfolk and they knew no other way. It was not her duty to change that.

It was her duty, however, to make sure their deaths were not in vain.

And she would do so the best way she knew how. By hunting. You do not kill the great Thanator by charging in head first. No you lay back and wait, watching it until that one moment when it drops its guard. Only then do you strike.

It just so happens that this particular Thanator has many, many lives.

She completed her circuit around the battalion of Sky People, liberating a handful of arrows off a Plainsfolk corpse on her way around. She reaches a cluster of ferns on the other side of the soldiers and stops, stringing her bow. The skxawng are still searching the tree where she had been for any sign of her presence. Perhaps if she were Plainsfolk, she would still be there.

But she is Omaticaya, and the slight sting as the bowstring slaps against her arm, propelling another arrow into the back of a soldier's head, is the best sensation she's felt in a long time. Twenty-two.

She was moving almost as soon as the arrow was released, leaping high into a nearby tree and quickly scaling it to the upper branches. She stopped before she went too high; even at this range the Sky People would be a difficult target. She wasn't worried however. She was Pey'lal of the Omaticaya, and she did not miss.

She stepped out onto the branch, nocking an arrow and firing it at the Sky People below in one smooth motion. A soldier falls, an arrow buried in his exposed neck. Quite possibly the best shot she has made in some time. A fitting death for number twenty-three.

Again, she jumped to another tree as soon as the shot was fired. This time as she landed she realized none of the Sky People had even noticed their brother's death, much less were trying to find her. She ducked behind a tree trunk anyways, her first instinct telling her they were just trying to trap her, to lull her into complacency. But as she peeked out, she realized they genuinely weren't paying attention to her. Instead the six remaining Sky People were advancing on something beyond her line of sight.

She sneered at them. Skxawng. What kind of fool forgets about the enemy picking you off? They couldn't actually believe they had killed her, could they? No matter. Their guard was dropped, their throats exposed. She would be a poor hunter to miss this shot.

She aims and the rearmost soldier collapses. The others are still oblivious, and as twenty-four's body falls, she sees why. It was the other dreamwalker, the not-warrior, bloody and kneeling on the ground.

She forced down her reflexive disgust at the sight of one of her People clothed in that vile human attire. He may be of the Sky People, but he was on the Na'vi's side, killing his own people to defend their home. Her jaw drops as she jumps closer for a better view and catches a glimpse of just how many Sky People bodies are lying around him. Even if they weren't all his kills, he'd still easily killed twice as many as she had.

The warrior in her couldn't help but admire the vicious weapon in his hands even as the Na'vi in her recoiled in disgust. It was an abomination, an offense to the natural order of things, to Eywa. But, so effective...

But even his weapon needed ammunition and it looked like he was out of it. Without it, there wasn't a chance he'd be able to survive against the remaining five soldiers surrounding him. Perhaps if he was the Tar'ruk'makto or a true Na'vi.

She smirked, an unpleasant expression that would have frightened the hardened soldiers ahead had they seen it. Perhaps if he were her.

She started running across the branch, balancing without thought as she drew her last arrow and nocked it in a single, practiced motion. The arrow flies true, burying itself in the back of her twenty-fifth kill. Only four soldiers left now.

And it appears that they'd finally remembered she was there.

It's too late. She pulled her bow over her shoulders and leapt off the end of the branch. It was nearly forty feet from the tree straight to the ground. Even for a Na'vi, the fall was going to hurt.

But the beautiful crunch as she land atop one of the Sky People made the pain more than worth it. Three left.

She started moving before the other soldiers could react, drawing her knife and whipping it across the throat of the nearest Sky Person before he could fire. The skxawng didn't even try to dodge, surprising freezing his limbs. No doubt, seeing a ten foot tall Na'vi suddenly land atop their brother was not something they had trained for.

As her latest victim started to collapse, the other two finally reacted, bringing up their guns and firing at her. She moved quickly, grabbing the falling body and bringing it up between her and the guns as a shield. A small part of her felt guilty – she was taught to respect the dead, after all – but it was easily squashed. He shouldn't have destroyed her home.

With her other hand, she flipped her grip on the knife and threw it. It was a rather unconventional skill, not one often practiced among the People, but one she had trained extensively at. It showed as the knife flew unerringly through the air to bury itself in second soldier's chest. One left.

She could smell the fear on the last one as he watched his brother's body collapse. She couldn't particularly blame him. He had just seen her kill three of his kin in almost as many seconds. She was a predator he simply wasn't capable of facing

The fear scent thickened as he began looking frantically around for some sort of escape, not even firing his weapon anymore. A Na'vi would face her death bravely, knowing she would soon be with Eywa. This skxawng was not Na'vi and instead turned and ran like a coward. She sneered at him in disgust as she tossed the body she'd been shielding herself with at his back. She wasn't about to let him run. He would face his death here and now, whether he wanted to or not.

He didn't even try to move as she began advancing on him, fear paralyzing his limbs. She took her time as she stalked towards him, reveling in his fear despite her instincts telling her to just go ahead and kill him. Every hunter knows better than to play with her prey – a cornered animal is always the most dangerous – but it was too hard to resist. The coward had destroyed her home, had killed dozens of her brothers and sisters, and would happily kill more if given the chance. He deserved to live his last few seconds in fear.

Then a rancid smell wafted to her nose as terror voided his bowels. Her face twisted in disgust, her fun ruined. She stopped taking her time and quicklly twisted her hands around his neck, ending his struggles.

She let out a quiet sigh and was standing up, relaxing slightly with the fall of her last enemy, when she heard a click from behind her. She froze, recognizing the sound, the sound of the Sky People's weapons. She had left one of the soldiers still alive, no doubt the one she had landed on. Apparently she hadn't struck him with enough force to kill him.

She'd let her guard down without making completely sure they were all dead. Stupid, stupid, stupid! It was one of the first rules she had learned as a hunter, you do not rest until you have confirmed your prey is dead. All it takes is one animal playing dead and it is the hunter instead that goes with Eywa.

She began saying her last rites to Eywa, knowing full well the Sky People weren't going to do it for her. And while it was normally the Tsahik's duty, she had no way of knowing whether the Tsahik still lived or even if they'd find her body after the battle. And while she didn't actually need them, she would go with Eywa regardless, it gave her a small measure of comfort as she braced herself for the gunshot.

But when it came, the agony she expected to follow did not come with it. After several seconds free from pain, she spun around just in time to witness the last soldier collapse to the ground as the dreamwalker lowered his gun. No doubt he'd scavenged it from one of the bodies nearby.

She couldn't help but breath a sigh of relief, one that she quickly sucked back in as the dreamwalker hit the ground right afterwards. She rushed over to him, rolling him over to see what was wrong. He was badly wounded, blood covering the entire right side of his chest. He'd been shot no doubt, most likely more than once. An injury topped off by the shard of bone jutting painfully from the skin of his left leg.

She couldn't help but be impressed. The fact that he could move at all with these injuries... Perhaps he wasn't as weak as she'd originally suspected.

But there was little she could do for him at this point, even if he had saved her life. The injuries were serious and he was beginning to bleed out. He might be able to survive with some extensive field treatment, but taking the time to do that would mean leaving the battle entirely. By the time she finished, it would have moved to far away for her to participate. She actually felt slightly guilty for leaving him but she wasn't about to abandon the Tree of Souls to the Sky People simply for the sake of one of theirs in a false body.

She could at least make his last moments comfortable though. But not until she was re-armed and prepared for another attack, if one came. She'd already made that mistake once that day, she wasn't about to do it again.

She walked back to the corpse with her knife jutting out of it and ripped it out none too gently. She wiped it on the soldier's sleeve before returning it to its sheath at her back. Then she removed her bow from her shoulders and scavenged a handful of arrows from one of the Plainsfolk bodies nearby. They weren't as high quality as Omaticaya arrows, and they didn't tip them with poison either, but they would do.

She loosely nocked an arrow to her bow as she walked back to the dreamwalker. He was lying motionless where she had left him, his breathing shallow. She grabbed him by the back of his shirt with her free hand and dragged him over to a nearby tree, propping him up against it. His half-lidded eyes popped open as the movement brought him back to full awareness. He smiled at her through bloodstained lips. "I did good, didn't I?" he asked in English, his voice quiet and raspy but surprisingly strong.

She nodded. "Yes. You did good," she answered in English. It was the least she could do for his sacrifice.

"Am I... I'm dying, aren't I?" She nodded again. It was strange, but she actually felt sad for him. He was not one of the Sky People responsible for her peoples' deaths after all. She couldn't help but think that this one would actually go with Eywa when he died, like Grace. Pey'lal thought the woman would like that.

"I thought so." His expression suddenly strengthened, eyes narrowing on hers as he reached up and grabbed her arms. "Why are you waiting here? Save the others, save the Tree. You can't let Eywa die!"

Her doubt disappeared. Yes, this one would go with Eywa. "I will. Rest... brother."

A wide smile crossed his face as he leaned back bonelessly against the tree. His breathing was coming slower now, shallower. It was time for her to leave.

She stood up right as something silver flashed across her vision, causing her to bring up her bow as she dropped into a crouch. She relaxed a moment later, it was just a Seed of the Sacred Tree. If a Seed was floating around then she was safe, at least for the time being.

She watched as the Seed slowly floated towards the dreamwalker, finally coming to rest over the wounds on his chest. Her breath caught in her throat as it hovered there, its desire clear even to one untrained in matters of the spirits such as her. She bit her lip as she looked back and forth between the wounded dreamwalker and the far-off battle, nearly drawing blood as she struggled with the decision.

When the Seed still hadn't left after nearly a minute, she threw down her bow in a childish fit of pique and knelt down beside the dreamwalker with a huff. She pulled him over to the side, laying him out straight across the muddy ground, before drawing her knife and cutting his strange 't-shirt' off his chest. She winced as she peeled the fabric back, fresh blood welling from the bullet wounds as she broke the few scabs that had formed.

He was actually rather fortunate, the Sky People weaponry hadn't damaged any vital organs. A part of her felt guilty for wishing they had. Then there would be nothing she could do and she could have left him there, returned to the battle. Unfortunately, it seemed the only battle still before her was the battle for his life. One, despite her disappointment, she was determined to win. If Eywa wanted him to live badly enough to pull her away from the _real_ fight, she was going to make sure he survived.

She tore his shirt into shreds and began to tightly wind the makeshift bandages around his torso. When she ran out of fabric from his shirt, she stripped the clothes off one of the nearby corpses and cut them up as well. Not exactly sanitary but she had to work with what she had on hand. The Tsahik could deal with a possible infection later, right now all that was important was to stop the bleeding.

Once his chest wounds bounds as tightly as she could make them, she turned her attention to his leg fracture. She winced as she got a closer look at the injury. It took a great deal to break the bones of a Na'vi, and while she'd seen before, it didn't make the sight of the bone jutting from his shin any less painful. Nor was it going to make treatment any easier.

She gently straightened his leg out before grasping both sides of the break firmly. She took a deep breath and then she pushed, setting the bone. She could hear the shards grating against each other and had to suppress a shudder. Even for a huntress, that was a wholly disgusting sound.

Pey'lal quickly scoped out the surrounding area for some straight sticks, eventually finding two straight enough to serve, before binding them tightly against his leg as a brace. With that done, she stepped back and surveyed her handiwork. Terrible, but it should hold long enough to get him to the Tree of Souls and some real help.

She briefly considered fastening together a makeshift stretcher but dismissed the idea. She was strong enough to carry him and she'd be able to move much faster that way. She knelt down and slipped her hands underneath his shoulders, preparing to pick him up, just as she heard a crashing from behind her. She quickly dropped him picked up her bow, nocking an arrow as she stepped back into the cover of some ferns to await her attacker.

The creature that emerged from the brush was a Sky Person but one unarmored and obviously unused to carrying the weapon cradled in his arms. Her bow dipped slightly as she realized he looked oddly familiar as well. When he let out a choked sob and rushed over to the wounded dreamwalker, dropping the gun on the way, she realized he _was_ the dreamwalker. This was the person behind the person.

It was an odd sensation. On the one hand, she was grateful for everything he'd done while in the false body, but on the other hand she was now faced with irrefutable proof he was a Sky Person. One of the very people she had come to despise over everything else.

Still, she couldn't let that change anything. Eywa had spoken. She let the arrow fall from the string and slung her bow over her shoulders as she stepped back into the clearing. The not-warrior was so caught up in his sorrow over his false body that he failed to notice her presence until she had crouched down beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder. He jumped up with a cry, fumbling blindly across the ground for his weapon until he realized she was a Na'vi and not one of their Sky People enemies.

"You! You're the one who saved me! I thought you left."

Pey'lal shook her head. "No. Eywa sent sign, wanted me to save you. I bandage your wounds. See." She pointed at her ragged fieldwork. "I get you to Tsahik. She save body."

He brightened as he noticed the shallow breathing of his avatar, letting out a wild cry as he fell to his knees beside the body and felt around for a pulse. He let out a shout of pure joy as he found it, throwing his arms around his body and turning to her with a blinding smile. "Oh god, thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"No, thank me. Thank Eywa. I huntress, not healer. I leave you but Eywa want you alive so I stay."

He laughed, a slightly hysterical tinge to his voice. "Who cares! Thank you anyways. God, I was so afraid I was dead-"

Pey'lal cut him off. "You will if body not get help. I only give time. Body still need healer to save. We go to Tree of Souls, to Tsahik. She will help."

He sobered up quickly. "No, the mobile outpost is closer. We have medical supplies there we can use."

"I huntress, not healer. Body needs Tsahik, not more bandages."

He gave her a wry grin. "Well, I'm a healer, not a warrior. If we can get my body back to the outpost I can use the supplies to fix me up."

She shrugged. "Your body. I will carry you there but after I leave. Understand?"

He nodded quickly. "Understand. Come on, follow me." He waited until she had scooped up his avatar before taking off running. It was fortunate he'd already broken enough of a trail to make movement quick on his way to the clearing or she would have been tempted to simply leave him. As it was, she was still all but walking to allow him to keep up. But perhaps it was better that way, the body's injuries would not be jarred as badly.

They moved for the better part of ten minutes before Pey'lal caught the scent of metal and blood on the air and saw a glint of silver through the trees and took off, shifting the body on her shoulders and drawing her knife. Something had fought in that clearing, sometime after the not-warrior had left. She had to make sure it wasn't still there.

As she felt the body jounce on her shoulders, a part of her mused it was rather sad she felt the not-warrior's body was safer with her taking it into a possible battle zone than leaving it out in the woods with him.

She came to a skidding halt in the clearing with the Sky Person's strange metal box, fully alert as she noticed the motionless machine and the dead Thanator lying in the middle of the grove, the still body of her Tar'ruk'makto motionless in between them. She quickly dumped the not-warrior's body off her shoulders, rage rising up in her as she considered the corpse of her leader. It was unthinkable. He couldn't be dead!

Suddenly she dropped down into a crouch and snarled. Her instincts told her there was something still in the area. Whatever it was, was about to die. And Eywa help it, if it had killed Jakesully because she would make sure its death was not pleasant.

She waited quietly, all her senses alert. Suddenly the silence of the clearing was broken by a small thump from inside the metal box, almost too quiet for her to hear. It had to be in there. She slowly, silently began to make her way towards the building. As she drew closer, she could hear quiet breathing coming from within. No doubt whatever had killed her Tar'ruk'makto. She forced down a snarl of anger as she moved beneath the broken window to the box. She tensed, preparing herself, then sprang through the opening with a hiss, knife at the ready.

She barely parried the savage blow directed at her as soon as she sailed through the window, the force of the strike throwing her backwards into a roll. She reacted instinctively as she stopped moving, springing forward to grapple with her attacker. It wasn't until she had tackled the other to the hard metal ground and had raised her knife to strike that she realized she was attacking a fellow Na'vi.

The other reacted first. "Pey'lal? What are you doing here?"

Pey'lal's eyes widened and she nearly dropped her knife in surprise. "Neytiri?" the huntress responded in her native tongue. "What are you doing here? What about the battle? Where's the Tarruk'makto?" It was then she noticed the human taking shelter behind the future Tsahik. "_Jakesully?!_"

The pale-skinned human blushed but nodded. "I See you, Pey'lal."

The Na'vi could only nod dumbly, unable to comprehend that the Tarruk'makto was the crippled human in front of her. Neytiri saved her from having to come up with a reply. "What are _you_ doing here, Pey'lal?"

Before the huntress could reply a shout echoed through the air outside. "Uh... huntress lady? Where are you? Are you here?"

Neytiri turned to look out the box's window, quickly taking in the shouting human and the injured body lying in the clearing beside the machine. "_You_ are helping a dreamwalker?! Why?"

"Eywa commanded it," Pey'lal sniffed indignantly, somewhat offended Neytiri would believe her so heartless despite her well-known disdain for everything Sky People. "I came across him during the battle and saved his body but when I went to leave, a Seed came to rest over his wounds. I bandaged him up and was about to bring him to the Tree of Souls for healing when he came back as you see him now. He said if I got his body here, he could heal it."

Jake nodded, having clambered back up into his wheelchair while she talked. "He should be able to. That's Norm. He's a doctor, almost as good as Grace was." He pushed himself over to the broken window. "Norm! In here!"

"Jake? Oh god, Jake! You're alive! I just saw your body and was afraid..." The human trailed off into incoherence as he rushed over to the metal door to the box and came inside, pulling the Tar'ruk'makto into an undignified hug.

Pey'lal tuned out the two Sky People as she turned to Neytiri. "What of the battle? If you're here, did we win?"

A wide grin split the future Tsahik's face. "Yes. Eywa herself came to our aid. Eykan attacked the Sky People's birds and hammerheads and viper wolves attacked the Sky People and their machines on the ground." She pointed at the dead Thanator in the middle of the clearing. "The Thanator even let me ride it here."

Pey'lal grinned in turn and let out a raucous cheer, grabbing onto the unsuspecting Neytiri and swinging her around in an equally undignified dance. "We did it! We saved the Tree!"

It didn't take long before Neytiri joined her, the two women laughing and crying as they held tightly onto each other, all the fear and excitement they'd been suppressing coming together in a single swell of emotion. Pey'lal didn't care how foolish she was acting or that there were others there or that it was Neytiri of all people she was hugging. In that moment, all she knew was the her people were safe and she had survived.

A quiet cough snapped the two Na'vi completely out of it once they started calming down. Pey'lal's face burned with embarrassment as she turned her head to find the Tar'ruk'makto watching them with an insufferably amused smile on his face. Neytiri obviously felt no such shame, instead rushing forward to grab her mate and begin cuddling him. The two began looking at each other so adoringly she had to turn away.

A crash and a muffled curse brought the three back to the present. "Norm? You all right there, buddy?"

There was another curse before the human emerged from behind a pile of crates with a small case of medical supplies in his hands. "There's not enough!" he wailed. "I'd forgotten about Grace! We don't have enough to save my body."

Neytiri let go of Jake and grabbed the medkit from the human. "I future Tsahik, have trained in healing arts. You are doctor, yes?" Norm nodded. "Together we heal your body."

The two of them rushed out the door, Norm nearly sprinting over to his avatar body. Pey'lal couldn't really blame him. She wouldn't want to be stuck as a Sky Person either.

"It's Pey'lal, right?"

She turned around from the watching them through the window to find Jake sitting at her side. "Yes. It is honor, Tar'ruk'makto."

Jake smiled, embarrased. "Just call me Jake. Neytiri's said a lot of good things about you, you know."

Pey'lal blinked in surprise. "Really?"

The dreamwalker nodded. "Yeah. Says you're the best hunter the Omaticaya have. Did you really kill one of those Thanator things by yourself."

The Na'vi pulled herself up proudly. "Yes. I stalk for five nights, no food, no water. Wait for right moment to strike. I put arrow in both eyes, then throat. Not even great Thanator survive."

"That's damn impressive. I've only ran into one of those things once. Scared the shit out of me. Ended up jumping off a waterfall to get away."

Pey'lal laughed. "No surprise. Thanator strong predator. You strong as well to survive."

The two sobered up as thoughts of the ones who hadn't survived rushed through their minds. They sat in silence and watched as Neytiri and Norm operated on his fallen body. "I thank you, Tar'ruk... Jake. And I sorry."

"Sorry? Why are you sorry?"

She bowed her head. "I try to convince Eytukan to kill you. I hate you. Not trust you or the Sky People. For this, I sorry."

Jake waved off her apology. "Don't apologize to me, Pey'lal. You were right. If it weren't for me, you would still have a home. All your brothers and sisters out there would still be alive."

Pey'lal glared at him, surprising even herself with her vehemence. "They your brothers and sisters too. You Tar'ruk'makto. You Omaticaya. To say other is to dishonor _our_ brothers and sisters who die today."

"But-"

"No. You save our People, not kill them. Sky People attack us soonor or later, Jake or no Jake. You save us. You make good Alu'eytan."

Jake's head snapped towards her so quickly she could hear his neck pop. "Wait, what?!"

Pey'lal grinned. "Oh? Neytiri no tell you? Mate of Tsahik always Alu'eytan. It is Omaticaya way. Why you think Tsu'tey so mad?"

The human's mouth worked speechlessly for a few moments. "But... I can't... I'm just a dreamwalker."

"No. You Tar'ruk'makto and lifemate of Neytiri. You lead many clans in battle. Now you say you cannot lead just one?"

Jake leaned back heavily in his wheelchair. "Wow... I... Just wow. This wasn't in the instruction manual. I don't think I can do this."

Pey'lal frowned. "You great warrior. You really not believe you can lead Omaticaya?"

"I'm a warrior, yes, not a chief. You want me to fight, just point me in the right direction. But you're talking about being responsible for the lives of a whole tribe! That's something entirely different."

"You not alone, you know." The huntress pointed out at Neytiri. "You have Tsahik. The not-warrior too. They know much, can help you lead."

This time Jake turned a calculating look on her. "And you? Will you help me as well?"

Pey'lal's eyes widened. "Me? I just huntress. What use am I?"

"No, you're the _best_ huntress. The People will need food, will need protection in a new home. Who better to help than you?"

"But Tsu'tey-"

"Is dead," Jake said flatly, eliciting a gasp from Pey'lal. "He fell attacking the Sky People. He is with Eywa now. And with Eytukan dead, who is left to lead the warriors?"

"One of the men-"

"Are you or are you not the woman who slew a Thanator by herself?"

"But woman leading warriors is not done."

Jake shrugged. "I'm Tar'ruk'makto, right? So if I say that a woman will lead the warriors, they'll have to listen to me, no?"

"Yes, but..." Pey'lal sat down heavily on the damaged machine behind her.

Jake gave her an apologetic smile. "Listen, you don't have to say anything just yet. Just think it over, will you? Not for me, for the Omaticaya."

He wheeled himself out of the box, leaving her to sit and stare out the broken window as he joined the other two currently stitching up the not-warrior's injuries. _Her_ lead the People's warriors? It was everything she'd ever wanted and yet exactly what she didn't at the same time.

Yes, she had wanted recognition for her abilities, had deliberately gone out and did stupid things like hunting a Thanator for it, but she was only looking for a... a pat on the back, not a chief position in the tribe. Jake was saying he would make her warchief! There had never been a woman warchief before.

All the sudden she caught a glint of silver out the corner of her eye and she turned to look, thinking it was another Seed. While it wasn't, just the light of the sun reflecting off Jake's wheelchair, it still reminded her. Jake wasn't just Alu'eytan or even Tar'ruk'makto, he was the chosen of Eywa. Who was she to deny him when Pandora herself had responded to his call for arms and had risen up against the Sky People?

It dawned on her that this must have been how Jake had felt when she suddenly sprang his new duties on him. And if he could react so calmly to the news, she could do no different.

Pey'lal stood up and leapt out the window of the box, careful to avoid the jagged shards of glass. The others were all gathered in the center of the clearing, the not-warrior repacking the medkit while Neytiri dragged Jake's body to lie beside his. Jake, unable to help while bound to his wheelchair, sat by and watched, engaging the other two in conversation.

Pey'lal strode proudly over to her new Alu'eytan and knelt down at his feet. "I sorry for... for..." She snarled quietly in frustration and switched back into her native tongue, unable to find the proper words in English. "I apologize for my hesitation. I See you and I follow you, Jakesully. If my Alu'etyan wishes me to lead the warriors, I will do as you command."

**-----**

**Thank you, everybody.** I just want to say wow. I cannot believe the response I got to this story. I was honestly expecting five, maybe six reviews for the first chapter, seeing how its such a minor fandom. But to get as many reviews as the first _three_ chapters of my Naruto story in a little over a week is simply astounding. Thank ya'll very much.

I also want to take this chance to single out the 'unsigned' reviewers and those of you who've disabled the pm feature as well. I always like to personally thank each of my reviewers but seeing as how I can't reply to your review and there's so many of you, I'm forced to do it this way instead. I really appreciate it, guys. Left me with big time warm and fuzzies.

**-----**

Author's Note:

This is going to be a rather difficult story I think. At least as far as writing Pey'lal goes. It hasn't even been twenty-four hours since she had her little epiphany regarding the unity of the People, so while she knows it with her head, this story will be partially about her internalizing it in her heart. Should be fun.

Jake'll be fun too. I've got the feeling he's likely going to be turning the Omaticaya on their heads in the very near future. I think he's going to be rather tricky to write as well. Of all the characters in this story, he's the one with the most to learn. Like he said, there's a difference between being responsible for men in battle and being responsible for the day to day lives of an entire tribe. He's going to have to learn to be not just a warrior, but a judge and administrator as well. Just a bit of a paradigm shift.

Writing this chapter also made me consider something else: language. I think perhaps for the next chapter or two, I will continue to use both Na'vi and English, but at some point – likely once Norm makes the transfer between bodies – I will switch entirely to Na'vi, in a manner of speaking. Really, I should probably just make the switch now but writing the halting English of Neytiri and Pey'lal is just too much fun.

Also, in case anyone was wondering the next chapter will be written from Norm's perspective. I've written a good number of stories, though I've only posted one other on this site so far, but this will be the first one where I make a concentrated effort to switch back and forth between viewpoints. Should be good interesting. I'm also planning on there being some overlap when I switch between perspectives but I don't think I'll write the same scene from both perspectives.

On a final note, I did receive one message asking about possible lemons. There will _not_ be any. The Na'vi are a highly moral and reverent society, and the way they treat the bond between mates makes it obvious they consider love and sex to be something both sacred and closely intertwined. Far be it from me to desecrate that with a crude attempt at voyeurism.

And on that happy note, Happy New Year's ya'll.

--

Published: 1.01.10_ (binary anyone?)_


	3. Chapter 2

**Tsa'helu**

Chapter 2

By Methinks

--

Norm dropped the case to the ground beside his avatar, nerveless fingers fumbling with the large metal latch. With a huff of annoyance, Neytiri shoved him out of the way and opened it herself. "You can't open box and you think you heal yourself? You thank Eywa I am here." She dropped the box in his lap. "Now I see what you did with your body."

She knelt down beside the body, rolling it over from the crumpled heap Pey'lal had dropped it in to lay straight. Deft fingers gently unwrapped the hastily fashioned bandages, carefully lifting them away to probe at the wounds. "It is bad but not too bad. We can save you. Be glad I am here."

She moved to kneel beside the avatar's head, carefully picking it up and laying it in her lap, placing the tips of her fingers across the top of his head. "What are you doing?"

"Shh. Is Na'vi healing trance. It will slow body down and help the healing. You will bandage wounds during. Can you do this?" Norm nodded. "Good. Then I will need quiet during. Is difficult process." She didn't wait for an answer, instead she closed her eyes and started to chant softly, swaying lightly back and forth.

Norm closed his eyes and listened in silence to her song, matching his breathing in time with the rhythm. As much as his mind screamed at him to get to work, the more rational part of him knew trying to stitch up the injuries while this wound up would only lead to mistakes. Especially as his medical knowledge was theoretical only. So he waited and listened, allowing the soft melody of her voice to calm his mind.

The song swept through him, drowning out everything else before it. He felt calm and centered, his mind focused, sharp, and ready to begin the procedure. He pulled a scalpel, a pair of tweezers, and a small bottle of sanitizing solution out of the medkit and doused the instruments in the solution. Hardly a premium solution, he knew, but there was little better he'd be able to do in this situation.

He set to work removing the bullets from the wounds, moving as quickly and surely as if he'd done the procedure a thousand times, Neytiri's melody echoing loudly throughout his head. Four wounds, four whole bullets cleanly extracted in a matter of minutes. Even with his unnatural calm, he couldn't help breathing a sigh of relief. If any one of those bullets had fragmented inside the avatar, he would have been down a Na'vi body to return to.

Once the bullets were out he pulled a surgical needle and some thread out of the case, sanitizing them as well, and set to work stitching up the wounds. His fingers moved deftly, threading the needle in and out of the skin. When he finally tied off the last knot, it barely seemed like any time had passed at all.

There wasn't anything he could do for his leg that the huntress hadn't already done, so he calmly packed away the remaining medical instruments back into the case, moving mechanically as if he was in a trance. The second the latch to the case snapped shut, however, his serenity snapped as well. The jungle began spinning around him, forcing him to sit down heavily on the grass as his stomach began to roil. He became increasingly light-headed as he began to hyperventilate.

He felt a warm hand touch his head, stroking his hair soothingly. He looked up to find Neytiri calmly looking down at him, speaking to him. He tried to hear her words but they were muffled, as if they were coming from a great distance. A clinical part of him realized he must be experiencing a panic attack, he was certainly exhibiting all the proper symptoms, but despite the observation he was powerless to stop it.

He tried to focus on something, eventually deciding on controlling his breathing. In and out, in and out, over and over again until he finally began to calm. Gradually he began to hear Neytiri's words of encouragement, soothing whispers to help him relax. After a few minutes, his breathing stabilized, leaving him a shaking wreck. But a coherent wreck.

He wrapped his arms around himself to try and control the shaking. "Th- thank you, by the way. For helping me. With the healing, that is. I couldn't have managed without you. I don't know what I was thinking, thinking I could do that myself. I'm a Ph.D, not a medical doctor."

"Do not thank me. Thank Eywa. It was she who guided your hands, not I. You should be very proud. It seems she very much wants you to live."

"You- You think?"

"Yes. You have done a great thing for the Omaticaya, for the whole Na'vi. It will not be forgot. By us or by Eywa."

Norm smiled widely, the effect somewhat spoiled by the chattering of his teeth. "I'm just glad I could do something for the Na'vi."

Neytiri smiled back at him. "You have. On behalf of my People, I thank you Normspellman."

"Please just call me Norm. I hate my name."

"Then we shall have to find you new one, when you take your place among the People."

Norm's head whipped towards her fast enough to make his neck pop painfully. He couldn't believe his ears. He strained to whisper through a tightly clenched throat, "What?"

Neytiri hesitated, her ears flicking back slightly. "If that is what you want, of course. I simply thought-"

"Yes!" Norm shouted as he realized she wasn't joking. "Yes, yes, yes! A million times yes!"

Neytiri smiled. "Good. I fear for a moment you did not want to."

"Oh god, yes." Norm realized not only had the shaking stopped but he was actually tearing up. He didn't think he'd ever experienced so many mood swings before, and certainly not in a matter of minutes. "You don't understand, ever since I was a child I've dreamed of being one of the Na'vi. To actually be one..." He couldn't find the words to continue.

Neytiri placed one massive hand on his shoulder. "And you will have your chance. It will take time, your body is still weak. It will need time to heal before we try."

Norm nodded and sniffed, rubbing at his eyes. "No, I understand. I'll wait as long as it takes."

"Good." Norm swiveled as he heard Jake speak from behind him. Apparently he had left the outpost sometime during his breakdown. "Because I'll need your help clearing out the rest of the guys back at base." Jake smiled at Neytiri. "It's time to kick the Sky People off our planet."

The massive Na'vi walked over to her lover and knelt down beside him, wrapping her arms around him. Jake smiled softly at her, running his comparatively tiny hand across her cheekbone. Norm blushed and looked away. He was emotional enough as it was without having to stare at the affectionate couple.

A cough from behind caused him to look back. The two had apparently finished, though Neytiri still had not let go of Jake. Now that they were decent, Norm grinned at the pair, still riding the high from the unexpected news. He opened his mouth to tease the two of them but Jake beat him to it. "So, it looks like you two did a pretty good job fixing you up."

Neytiri nodded. "Yes. Norm did very well. We have Pey'lal to thank too. He would not have survived if not for her."

"Pey'lal? Is she the huntress?"

Jake nodded. "Yeah, that's her." Then he turned narrow eyes on Neytiri. "Speaking of which, she told me something very interesting in there."

Norm was surprised to actually see Neytiri pale. "What do you mean?"

"Something about me being Alu'eytan because of us being lifemates. Or something like that..." When the Na'vi didn't say anything, Jake said warningly, "Neytiri..."

"Yes. That is the way it normally is, but-"

"Jesus, Neytiri! Were you ever planning on telling me about that?"

"I did not think it would happen. You are dreamwalker. They would not let you be Alu'eytan. More likely I be cast out instead."

"And now?"

Neytiri shrugged. "Now you Taruk'makto. Omaticaya honored to have you be Alu'eytan."

Jake let his head fall back, allowing it to thump against Neytiri's arm. "That's what Pey'lal said."

"Pey'lal is wise at times."

Jake looked at her curiously. "Speaking of which, what exactly is going on between you two? She seemed shocked that you had something good to say about her."

"Pey'lal is..." Neytiri waved her hand through the air as she searched for the correct words. "Pey'lal is great hunter but not always good Na'vi. Does not listen to Alu'eytan, to Tsahik. Does things on her own. Omaticaya see this, frown on her for this."

Jake frowned. "How bad is it? Because I may have just offered to let her lead the warriors..."

"If that is your wish, Omaticaya will follow. Tsahik will not like it though. She will say Pey'lal still have much to learn."

"So I should pick someone else? I don't really know who else to choose, with Tsu'tey dead..."

"No, I not say that. We should speak with Tsahik when we return. She will guide you."

Jake nodded. "Planned on doing that anyways. We should probably get moving sometime soon too."

Norm heard a thump from over to his left and spun around. He saw out of the corner of his eye Jake and Neytiri doing the same. But it was just Pey'lal leaping out the broken window of the outpost. The huntress's eyes fastened on Jake as she strode quickly over to him, kneeling down at his feet. Her voice was quiet when she spoke, "I sorry for... for..." She snarled quietly and switched back to Na'vi. "I apologize for my hesitation. I will do as my Alu'eytan commands. Where you lead I will follow and may Eywa guide us all."

Norm wasn't sure what prompted him to follow suit but he walked over to Pey'lal and knelt down beside her. "I too am yours to command, Alu'eytanan."

Jake threw his hands up in front of him. "Whoa now, let's slow down here. I don't need none of this kneeling or Alu'eytan stuff."

"It is your duty now Jake," said Neytiri quietly. "It is _our_ duty. With Eytukan dead, Moat will pass Tsahik to me and it will be up to us to lead the Omaticaya. You will have to grow used to such respect."

Jake frowned. "Well I don't need it now and especially not from you two. Come on, up." The two reluctantly stood. "Good. Now, if you're really serious about this Alu'eytan business, you can start by helping me move these bodies. We need to get us and them to the Tree of Souls sooner rather than later." He grimaced. "And we're going to have to hoof it seeing as how neither Norm or I can get back in our bodies right now."

Pey'lal nodded. "I understand. I carry... Norm?" She nodded at Neytiri. "You carry Jake?"

She shook her head. "Yes. But I cannot carry Jake and his body. You carry Norm's body. We will make stretcher for Jake's body and I will drag as well."

"I understand. I go make stretcher. Be back." She turned and sprinted into the undergrowth.

Jake sighed. "This is going to suck. Norm, you mind carrying my chair? Neytiri already has enough to worry about, dragging both me and my body."

"Sure thing, Jake."

"If you can, you should probably take the medkit with you too." Jake sighed sadly. "I guarantee we're going to need it when we get to the Tree."

All the sudden Norm felt extraordinarily guilty. "How bad were the casualties?"

"Bad. You saw what it was like on the ground." Norm nodded. "It was worse in the skies. Our wounded couldn't retreat up there. You got hit that was it."

Neytiri sighed. "It is sad but they die well. They are with Eywa now."

"I only wish there weren't so many. If only I'd had a better plan or-"

Neytiri cut him off. "No. It is not your fault. It is the Sky People's fault. You save Na'vi. Be sad for our brothers but do not blame for their deaths."

Jake grimaced. "If only it was as easy as that."

A crashing from the undergrowth interrupted them, Pey'lal returning with her makeshift stretcher. Carefully she and Neytiri loaded Jake's body onto the giant leaf before Pey'lal picked Norm's body up off the ground. Neytiri knelt down low, allowing Jake to struggle onto her back. As she shifted him to make him easier to carry, Norm rushed over and folded up Jake's chair, then picked up the medkit. As soon as Neytiri had a hold on the stretcher, they were off.

The journey took several hours, encumbered as they were. Norm was just glad they didn't have to worry about animal attacks for the time being, Eywa still acting in their favor. Another Thanator actually came up to sniff him before bounding away, much to his profound relief.

Other than the occasional word or two, their trek was made in silence. Each was caught up in their own morose thoughts, as they surveyed the carnage all around them. It would take years for Pandora to recover from the damage, both the jungle and the Na'vi.

Norm couldn't help feeling ashamed that he couldn't be entirely distraught over the tragedy; it had, after all, led him to his fondest dream. Or it was going to, at least.

As they were just beginning to near the basin harboring the Tree of Souls, Jake stopped them. "I don't think we should go any further. Norm and I, at least."

Norm turned to him in confusion. "What do you mean? What about my body? It still needs help-"

Jake opened his mouth to explain but Neytiri spoke up before he could. "No, Jake is right. Right now, you are not dreamwalker. You are Sky People. Na'vi gather there, and many are hurt and angry. It would not be safe, not even for Jake."

The ex-marine nodded. "I'm not saying all of us need to stop, just you and I. Pey'lal and Neytiri can still go ahead and take your body with them. But like Neytiri said, these guys just spent all day killing Sky People. Do you really want to risk getting an arrow yourself?"

Norm started to protest but forced himself to shut his mouth. As much as he wanted to be there to see his body get treated, it wouldn't be much use to him if he was dead. Grudgingly, he began to let down Jake's wheelchair when Neytiri surprised him by rounding on Jake. "No! I not leave! How can you even suggest that! I not leave my lifemate behind." Her voice softened. "Not now, not ever."

"What's the plan then? Assuming it's only Pey'lal who goes and she takes the bodies with her, are the three of us just going to camp here for the night? And what are you going to do about getting back into your body? Not to mention the whole base full of people that are no doubt planning to kill us..."

"Norm. Norm!" Jake interrupted him. "You're rambling, buddy. Calm down a minute. Let's just sit and think this through."

Pey'lal finally spoke up. "If you like, I go and get Tsahik and she can help. We can come back on ikran so I not be gone long."

Jake nodded slowly. "That's not a bad idea. We probably need to talk to her anyways seeing as how she's the only one with any clue about what's going on anymore." He fixed his gaze on the huntress. "Alright, do it."

She grinned at him. "I listen, Alu'eytan. I return soon." She took off sprinting through the brush, moving far quicker without the rest of them to slow her down. Norm winced as he watched her disappear, his body still jouncing painfully over her shoulders. He could only hope his rough stitches would hold underneath the stress.

As Jake climbed off Neytiri's back and into his wheelchair and his mate arranged his avatar comfortably along the ground, Norm collapsed back against a tree. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been this tired. Even if it hadn't been his human body that had participated in the battle, every part of him ached like it had. His limbs felt like lead, his body unused to physical activity after so long in the uplinks, and his feet were screaming at him for tromping so many miles through the wilderness. He didn't doubt he'd discover a great number of painful blisters as soon as he got a chance to take off his boots.

He was dimly aware of Jake and Neytiri quietly talking amongst themselves as his eyes began to slowly creep shut. He briefly considered fighting to keep them open but quickly realized he didn't even have the energy for such a small task. It was like the very act of sitting down had drained him of all his remaining strength. Sleep pulled him under seconds later.

--

It seemed like he'd barely shut his eyes before he was abruptly awoken by a loud flapping followed by two painfully loud shrieks. No doubt Pey'lal returning with the Tsahik like she'd said. At least, he hoped it was them. They weren't likely to get any sort of decent reception from anyone else.

He moved to sit up so he could greet them but quickly abandoned the attempt as his back screamed in protest. Now that he was aware of it, he could feel every part of him hurting more than it had before he'd fallen asleep. His back in particular felt completely cramped up, as if each of his muscles had somehow tied themselves in knots just to spite him.

Unfortunately, there was too much to do for him to sit back and relax just yet, pain or no pain. He forced himself to sit up again, the motion marginally easier once he braced himself for the pain. He managed to get to his feet just as Pey'lal and the Tsahik finished dismounting their ikrans.

Moat spoke first, her attention fixed on the crippled marine standing next to Neytiri. "I see you Jakesully." She paused. "You are Jakesully, yes? The real one?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Surprised?"

Norm was surprised as well when Moat actually nodded. Apparently the Na'vi sense of tact was quite different. "Yes. It strange to see Taruk'makto like this." Then she smiled. "Though I see why you like to run so much. You cannot move legs at all?"

Jake grimaced. "No. I took a bullet during a battle back on our planet, damaged my spine. I haven't been able to walk for almost eight years."

"That sad. But it matter not. You are strong warrior just the same." She smiled toothily at him. "And soon you have good legs all the time."

Jake grimaced. "I'm strong only because I have to be. And speaking of warriors, we need to start preparing to attack the base immediately." Norm couldn't help feeling a little confused. How did they go from camping here for the night to assaulting the base. Apparently Jake had developed a new sense of urgency sometime while he'd been sleeping.

Moat shook her head resolutely. "No. You must rest Jakesully. You have done enough already. It is time for others to work now."

"I can't rest," he protested. "We have to strike back now, before the Sky People can regroup. Otherwise even more Na'vi might die before we can drive them away."

The older Na'vi would not be budged. "No. We are just as weak as the Sky People. We too need rest. For now, trust Eywa to handle the Sky People. Tomorrow those who can fly will go to the Sky People's camp to send them away."

"But..."

Neytiri jumped in, hushing him. "No, my Jake. The Tsahik is right." She gently ran a hand down the back of his neck. "You are too tried, not thinking right. Please, trust Eywa."

Norm thought briefly about putting in his own vote in favor of resting but eventually decided to stay out of it. His head felt like it had been stuffed with cotton anyways, no doubt from fatigue. He would be little use to anybody until he'd gotten some sleep, some _real_ sleep. Though it wasn't like he was particularly useful to begin with...

While he knew better than to sit back down lest he go back to sleep, he allowed himself to lean up against the tree and close his eyes, half-paying attention to what was going on. He was certain he'd be fine with whatever they decided. All four of them were leaders in the clan after all, either now or in the near future. Even if he didn't like their choice, he might as well get used to following their orders now.

He suddenly jerked to attention as a massive hand reached out and shook his shoulder. He was somewhat abashed to realize he'd dozed off while standing up. Also slightly impressed. He'd never managed that before. "What's going on?"

"Norm, where's the next nearest mobile link-up, do you know?"

He shook his head. "I have no idea. Trudy was the navigator, not me." Jake muttered a curse. "There was a map back in Site 26's living quarters though. I'm pretty sure I remember seeing the other outposts marked down on there."

The ex-marine frowned slightly. "Now that you mention it, I'm pretty sure I remember seeing those too. Alright, we might as well head there then. We can sleep there tonight and then travel to another outpost in the morning."

Moat nodded her head thoughtfully. "It is good plan. You will be safe and out of way and Neytiri can guard you. The Taruk'makto."

"As great a plan as that might be, how are we going to get there?" Norm asked. He could feel himself beginning to get slightly grumpy. As used as he was to going long periods of time with little to no sleep, he'd never mastered the art of being pleasant while tired. Perhaps one of the reasons he'd had so few friends during college. "Like I said, Trudy was the navigator. Unless you can remember which foggy identical floating rock the outpost was on, we're rather out of luck," he snapped.

Jake frowned at him, but Moat jumped in before the cripple could chastise him. "We know where it is," she said, motioning towards herself and Neytiri. "You think we allow you in Hometree blindly? No, hunters follow Grace, learn where she stays, and keep watch. Omaticaya always watch Sky People."

Both humans turned towards the Na'vi in surprise and she grinned toothily at them. "Now, if grumpy Normspellman finished arguing, we fly there now."

"How are we going to work this," Jake asked. "There's five of us, six including my body, and only two ikran." He eyed the flying beasts warily. "Assuming they'll even let non-bonded people on."

"They will," Moat assured him. "They not like it, but they listen if we say so."

"That doesn't fix the problem though. Can they even carry three people?"

Pey'lal jumped in. "They carry two Na'vi easy. Sky People light. Ikran not have problem."

Moat grinned and poked at Jake with a massive finger. "Too light. You should eat more. Not healthy to be so skinny."

Jaked waved her off. "That doesn't matter, this isn't my real body anymore. Hasn't been for months. And that still doesn't fix the seating arrangments."

Neytiri sighed. "It is simple. You and I ride with Moat. Norm ride with Pey'lal."

"And my body?"

"We will lash to Pey'lal's ikran. She will keep it safe."

Jake frowned and looked as if he was about to start arguing but a touch from Neytiri silenced him. "It is best choice. The ikran cannot carry three Na'vi at one time. Two ikran, with two Na'vi and one Sky Person each. And since I ride with you, your body must ride with Pey'lal."

Jake's frown deepened but dropped into a pained look of surprise when Moat let out an earsplitting whistle right behind him. An answering screech echoed her call as her ikran flew down from its perch to join them, Pey'lal's following right behind. "Lesson one, Jakesully. Your mate is always right."

Jake's eyes widened at the teasing lilt to Moat's voice before breaking out in chuckles. "She is, isn't she? Alright, we'll have it your way." He smiled at Pey'lal. "Besides, if I can't trust you with my body, how can I trust you with the tribe?"

Norm noticed the sharp look Moat shot Jake at the statement but, much to his relief, she left it alone. He didn't doubt she'd take it up with him later, but right now all he wanted was to get to the base and get some sleep. He didn't know if he'd have been able to sit through another argument without falling asleep.

As Neytiri and Pey'lal pulled their knives and started cutting vines from the nearby trees, he joined Jake and Moat beside her ikran. As she mounted the massive beast and established the bond in one smooth, practiced motion, he couldn't help asking, "Are these things safe?"

Jake chuckled. "What? Don't tell me the great Norm Spellman is afraid."

Norm frowned. "It's not like I've ridden one of these things before."

"Well, you better get used to it. You'll be riding one of your own before too long."

The scientist's mouth dropped open. "What?"

Jake laughed. "What? You thought you were just going to keep taking samples?"

"I... I hadn't actually thought about it. I'm still trying to process everything."

"Well you had better start thinking. If I'm going to do this, I'm going to need your help real soon. And the first thing you're going to have to do is to earn your bow as a hunter. You've got to prove yourself. The People won't respect a dreamwalker otherwise."

Norm grinned at him. "_Former_ dreamwalker. Get it right."

Jake shoved him over towards Pey'lal, who had just finished tightly lashing Jake's avatar to her ikran. "Get over there, Spellman. Don't want her to leave you behind."

--

Author's Notes:

I want to iterate a couple of points in response to a number of comments I've received from readers. First off, mostly because it's the shorter of the two, this _is_ a Norm/Pey'lal romance. It will be a while in the making, possibly quite a while, but it will the flip side, this story is not just about the romance. It will be just as much about the recovery of the Omaticaya, and slightly less about Jake and Neytiri's transformation into leaders, as it will Norm and Pey'lal.

Second, I've received quite a few comments expressing disbelief that this story will continue for any more than a few chapters. It will. I have yet to leave a project unfinished (obviously not fanfiction wise, but in general) and I don't intend to start with this one. I fully intend to run this story for several hundred pages so I hope you like to read.

That said, break time's over. I like to think I've been real good about updating so far - three chapters in two weeks - but I've had lots of time I no longer have. I'm back in school full-time, and working a part-time job to help with all those pesky school loans, so writing just moved down my priority's list. It's still my biggest and most beloved hobby, but I'm no longer going to have the time to keep up once a week updates.

Nonetheless, I hope all of you stay with me. I've really loved all the support I've received so far and would hate to see that dry up simply because of longer wait times. Trust me, the story will be finished, no matter how long it takes.

--

As for this chapter, I'm not ashamed to admit I kind of copped out. I'd intended on taking it all the way up to Norm falling asleep at Site 26 but things started unraveling the moment I had him jump on an ikran. Dialogue became strained, interactions awkward, and I think the characters were giving me foul looks. So I clipped the thread, hastily tied it up, and started on the next chapter.

Worked for me on two fronts really. I've been struggling with how exactly to believably get Norm and Jake from the Tree of Souls over to Hell's Gate and inside the base's uplink for the Great Sky People Round-up. Cutting Norm off now let's me start up with Pey'lal in a different position and end up in the same place. Thus, I spare myself hours of beating my head agaisnt the wall trying to figure out how to get them from Point A to Point B and still keep you interested. Hurray me!

Lastly, I really want to thank all of you who've reviewed or messaged me since I posted this story. Like I said, it's been absolutely amazing to hear from all of you and for those of you who've left me without means of getting in touch to thank you personally, please accept this instead. Keep enjoying this story. That's an order.

--

Published: 1.07.10


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